Bronx Rep. Torres introduces 'BODEGA Act' to fund stronger security measures

BODEGA ACT would boost security at NYC shops

Rep. Ritchie Torres is behind a new push in congress to make the city's bodegas safer and to get them the funds they need to install more security equipment.

NEW YORK CITY - The employees behind the counter at Pamela’s, a NYC bodega in the Bronx, are more than employees: they’re family and owner Radhames Rodriguez values their safety, but says he lacks the tools to maintain it.

"What the owners and employees been through is very difficult. Sometimes we don’t even want to work," Rodriguez said.

That’s why Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres is rolling out new legislation aimed at supporting Bodega workers in his district and across the country.

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Torres aims to get the BODEGA Act passed to provide bodegas with grant money to install security systems like panic buttons and surveillance cameras to prevent crimes and help police respond more effectively, as the history of violence at bodegas, often deadly, affirms his push.

"The single most dramatic event that I saw was the barbaric murder of Junior Guzman, who fell victim to a monstrous and murderous gang assault that began inside a bodega," Torres recalled.

"Imagine Junior Guzman and so many others that have been killed looking for a safe haven in a bodega and a bodega owner wasn’t able to do anything to save their lives," said Fernando Mateo.

The spokesperson for the United Bodegas of America supports the legislation already after calling for more to be done earlier this summer following a sledgehammer attack, a stabbing and shooting – all in a week’s span.

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"The money is for us to protect our workers our businesses our lives and of the people in the community," Mateo said.

The amount of money bodegas stands to gain from the bill, if passed, would be determined go through the House appropriations process.

"But we hope to secure enough so that every bodega has access to security equipment, security systems that will keep them safe," Torres said.

"Having the panic button is very important right now because by that we could have police, the ambulance, the fire department quicker," Rodriguez added.

As a bodega owner, Rodriguez says, of course, he would like to see immediate relief in response to the recent violence at bodegas, but the introduced legislation he says is a great first step.